Die hard sox fan and I gotta say it is a pretty simple park and isn’t as visually appealing as the north side but I still believe it’s a better place to actually watch the game its game focused all great seats to watch with no obstructions and a passionate environment. Love the night games where the lights flash after a home run or when Hendricks comes in to close it’s a amazing feeling and gets the crowd even more into it then they were
You’ve clearly never sat underneath the overhang. Awful sight lines. That said, as ChiSox fan, we did get the shaft on a great stadium. The improvements since opening New Comiskey have made it enjoyable but it lacks in everything but food. I love being able to exit/enter expressway so quickly as the park is rarely crowded. Overall, fair critique by Inside The Park.
Hey bro, that’s my old hood, not that sketchy! People who come to the park may be sketchy, but they are NOT from Bridgeport! Agree with you that not being able to walk around the whole park is a bummer, especially for me as I like to photograph from all over for my ballpark collection. When I took my daughters there in 1991, I was afraid they were going to tumble down from the upper deck! Since you mentioned Camden Yards so many times, I take it that is a favorite. It is for me! Lastly, instead of saying “you know,” so many times, just pause for 2 seconds and go on to your next thought. You don’t need to fill the spaces with “you knows.” This is coming from a former speech coach!
Correction-ticket holders on every level can access the Xfinity Kids Zone. I agree that all ticket holders should be able to access the outfield concourse.
It isn’t that bad people. I love it! Go Sox, great food at the ballpark, no seat is a bad seat, big game atmosphere is great, great looking park. Idk what he is talking abt but I love it.
Sounds like a typical out of towner review...Bridgeport is not sketchy...and if it is there's a dozen other neighborhoods I'd never step foot in so it's going to the bottom of that list. The stadium is more middle ground than bottom percentile its just old and kinda plain but that's how 90s stadiums were. I've been recently and the upgrades are pretty nice and the game atmosphere is usually pretty good, the crowd gets into the games and people are usually in a great mood as you walk around the stadium. I think people go there purely to catch a game and just chill out they aren't looking for gimmicks and fancy bells and whistles.
My only argument and for both teams in town, is that both ballparks represent the neighborhoods and fans of those teams. I'm not sure moving a ballpark closer to downtown does anything. The parks are where they are because thats where their fan base is for the most part.
Die hard Sox fan here; there are a few things I agree with you on the ballpark, mainly being the levels are all fractured and you are not able to move around within the entire stadium. That for me is a bummer because the 300 level has a great view of the field but i usually buy 100 level tickets for the food variety and overall better atmosphere. Now, considering that the ballpark was rendered obsolete almost immediately after being built due to the retro-classic parks that followed, I will give them the benefit of the doubt and tip my hat to the renovations they’ve made over the years. When I went to games as a kid, I distinctly remember the sea of BLUE seats inside of a rather uniform, cookie cutter concrete bowl. Though new comiskey will never be among the modern jewel box parks, its about as close as it can get now. I’m bummed you didn’t give the ‘exploding scoreboard’ a shoutout. It’s a feature that was adapted from old comiskey and for longtime fans like my dad, it is a link to what used to be and the modern cathedral called comiskey that came before.
I made a trip from Seattle to visit that ballpark back in '91, the year it opened. In fact when I was there the old Comisky ballpark was still standing but was in preperation to be demolished (there was a crane with a wrecking ball parked in the infield). I must say I was very impressed with the then-new ballpark during my visit. But then again as a Mariners fan I was used to attending ballgames in Seattle's Kingdome, which was a monstrosity by comparison. Besides the Kingdome the only other MLB ballparks I had visited were Candlestick Park and Milwaukee County stadium. Compared to those three stadiums the new White Sox ballpark was a breath of fresh air. But times do change and Baltimore set a new standard for ballparks following the construction of the White Sox stadium. I don't know if you've had a chance to visit T-Mobile Park in Seattle. As someone who celebrated when the Kingdome was demolished I am a huge fan of T-Mobile Park. I love that place and hope you have the opportunity to see a ballgame there if you haven't done so already.
I would put the ballpark in the middle of the pack at best, certainly not bottom 5. The neighborhood gets a bad rap because the media constantly rips on it yet Wrigleyville is actually worse. Most don't know that unless you live in town and listen to the police scanner. The local media covers it up. I've only had 1 issue in Bridgeport in the last 20 years of going there for Sox games. Cubs games, there's usually a drunk to deal with and the area gets the most tickets for public urination in Chicago. The food and beer selection there is second to none as well. Grant it the parking scam is a new issue this past season. At least there's easily accessible parking for tailgating which Cubs fans seem to love. They have the best trained staff in town as well. If you're going to have something bad happen to you at any stadium/ arena in Chicago then you'll want it to happen at Comiskey for sure. You'll get helped the fastest there. I've worked at all the stadiums, so I know from experience. It would've been better if they faced homeplate in the same direction as old Comiskey for the nice view of the skyline. As far as not being able to wander all the levels, I usually get a 100 level seat which is pretty cheap since I wear a size 13 shoe and hate the 500 level. Club level tickets let you access every level, though. I haven't been to the fundamentals deck since I don't have a kid in awhile, but last time I cut through there I had to have a kid with me. Some lady was going up with her son and let me tag along so I could get to club level faster. Man, this is a long comment! Sorry about that.
This guy just wanted to make a video trashing the stadium. He's just making things up to complain about. I've sat behind the visitor's dugout many times, there's nothing awkward about the seats. Comiskey (I will always call it that) is a great place to watch a ballgame. Great food, great beer selection, kid friendly, it's a great modern ballpark.
Do you honestly believe that this ballpark matches up with PNC Park, Truist Park, Busch Stadium? It’s not even close. When I rate a park it is about more than watching the game. A hard core baseball fan like me who attends 80+ games a year just needs four bases and a bat and they are good. But for the average fan with a family that goes to one or two games a year, they are looking for a full entertainment experience. They want to be able to stroll around, grab a bite to eat or drink before or after the game, maybe do some shopping. GRF doesn’t offer that. There is no reason to go there on a non game day. Think about places like Ballpark Village in STL, the Battery in ATL, Navy Yard in DC, these are areas around ballparks that enhance the experience that GRF can’t match.
@@insidetheparkwithemilyandb7350 the only thing PNC Park and Busch Stadium have going is the scenery. Otherwise, they are basic cookie cutter neo-classical structures. I visited Truist last year…meh. Couldn’t get into any of the restaurants either in, or outside the park…remind me why I should want that. Also, took an hour to get out of parking garage across from it. The Battery is probably better visited when the Braves aren’t playing.
To paraphrase LaVar Ball, "You are a hater". I won't argue the points you made, but this is NOT a bottom 3 ball park.Far from it. The food selections and sight lines are good. It's not perfect, but what building is? Secondly, REAL White Sox fans (you clearly aren't) will call this building Comiskey Park till the day they die.Comiskey isn't for everyone. Go soak your head.
Legendary Comiskey Park, forever the only name I'll ever call as long as they are the White Sox, and they do business in Brigeport on 35th Street, Southside!!!
Truth be told it's still not as great a place to see a game as old Comiskey. This park was actually larger originally, but the upper deck was so large and the Sox weren't drawing, so they tore off the last several rows of the upper deck so it would feel smaller, cozier, but that really didn't do much. I've been to an afternoon day game where the entire upper deck was closed. You could get up there, but the concessions were closed and the restrooms were locked. Not a great ballpark.
The neighbor hood has come a long way over the years. The park is great, the food is some of the best in all of baseball, we have the sodfather. It has come leaps and bounds from when it was first built in my opinion. I hated the new park when it first came out but they have done a lot of great things to make it better.
You forgot to mention our exploding scoreboard where fireworks are unleashed for every home run! Wrigley Field has terrible seats in many places on the lower level due to column obstructions and the food selection is limited so I avoid watching the crosstown rivalry at Wrigley. Sox stadium has better food and there is not a bad seat in the place. I have sat in all the sections including upper deck and I really like the upper deck sections that run along the first base line. Yes, our neighborhood is not full of bars with pub food like Wrigley Field. However, we have the best Mexican food in nearby Bridgeport/Pilsen and the best Chinese food in Chinatown which is one subway stop away. Chicago locals know the best Mexican and Chinese cuisines are in these neighborhoods.
Not a complaint. Just a stating a fact. Also a fact that the area is more gritty than Wrigleyville. If you are coming in and out for ballgame that might not be a big deal. But if you are making a day of your visit, there are really no options within walking distance to grab a meal and walk around. Things like Ballpark Village in St. Louis, the Navy Yard shops/restaurants in DC, the Battery in Atlanta. GRF can’t match that…sorry!
@@insidetheparkwithemilyandb7350 I appreciate the reply. You’re right that it’s a grittier area than Wrigleyville, but that’s the nature of the Southside. Bridgeport has spots going North of the stadium. Chinatown’s walkable from there. But, yes, it’s the South side.
@@insidetheparkwithemilyandb7350 way to take swipes at a place that I truly love. Ever been to Yankee Stadium's area, the Bronx? Want to talk about sketchy areas...there ya go. People like you that like to badmouth other people's joy makes me sick and you should get a clue. Sorry as hell people.
I’m a Sox fan. That’s okay to say whatever you want. But Wrigle field has no parking and we had our car blocked in before and couldn’t get out years ago and had to wait for the game to be over. Sox park is not the greatest and your right about the seating area, you used to tour around the ballpark by buying a cheap ticket and sitting anywhere. The food there is one of the best though
As a fan of Chicago… and watching the stadiums go up and down on the south side… not walking the park must be a new thing they doing cause when I went we walked the whole bowl and grandstands… NO ONE. Has better food than the park… and the new whole-view scoreboard beats all… and those fireworks you love belong to us… oh, wait…. Wrigley don’t do fireworks? I sense some jealousy much? I can see your cubs stuff on ya… it’s ok… Besides, Downtown needs a stadium like we need trump back in office…. (hint: it will never happen) If ya don’t like walking… if you can afford it, stay in Wrigleyvile… don’t hear people complaining about the walk to Solider Field. So…. Yeah, keep your so called ‘unique’ ball parks… you don’t have to come back…
Neighborhood is not bad, easy to get to, ample parking, great sight lines in 100 and 300 levels, best food, only drawback is the team ownership and the team on the field.
The wife and I have tickets for the Memorial Day weekend with the Baltimore Orioles vs Chicago White Sox game. First time for both of us in this park. I'll give you an update after the game. How strict are they with the "bag policy"?
the Rate is pretty much a basic ballpark. There are no water slides or neon coke bottles, no bar districts or theme parks nearby. A sea of concrete outside like Dodger stadium but with the CTA a few blocks away. Gate access only is a burn. I remember walking Comiskey during rain delays & double headers. No skyline view but it's pretty far away. Sadly no mention of the FOOD.
I remember old Cominski Park as a youth, and it was fun to visit. I attended a game the first year at the new park. What a letdown! Beyond the outfield wall is not visually appealing, so what did they do? Build big walls for advertising. It gives me the feeling we are sitting in a cardboard box with the lid open. The first balcony was so steep that I was afraid to jump for a foul ball two seats down. 8:30 Yeah, I saw a major league game, but the experience disappointed me. I am sure they have addressed some of my issues, but I have not returned yet. I have to admit that Wrigley is a much more fun experience.
The reason you can’t go from a cheaper seat to “experience” the ball park is due to the incident when the two fans jumped out on the field and attacked the Kansas City Royals 1st base coach. Those fans had cheaper seats and were allowed to move down.
That was over twenty years ago, and the Sox punishing the rest of fans for what two idiots did was a major faux pas. Treating paying customers like prisoners is a big reason why Sox attendance is the way it is…and Reinsdorf likes it. Suppressing attendance, he gets to forgo rent. Not many people know this.
Sight lines, no matter where you sit in the Ballpark is good, unlike Wrigley, which has many blocked views, no parking, gets a pass due to it being a historic (old) park. Could Guarantee Rate be better, sure definitely not the bottom 3. Much better to see a game there then at their North town rivals.
Thanks for watching. Don’t get me wrong, we had a good time at GRF. Seats we had for our second game in Section 144 had a weird configuration. One side of the row was angled to home plate, the other half was angled towards centerfield. Maybe a anomaly, but it gave us visions of Fenway Park seating.
@@piglet7943 there’s definatly blocked seats at wrigley no doubt . I hear six fans always bragging bout the food n I really could give a crap about the food I’m there to see a game . If u have good seats at wrigley it a better place to go to a game . Sox fans are so angry and this yer who could blame them . They were out smarting every one when the gave un proven players contracts to avoid the early call up charade that teams do . How’s it look now … enjoy the suck sux fans …
I agree with if you have a ticket you should be able to go anywhere in the park to check it out. I always sit up high behind the plate not because they are cheaper but because I can see the entire field and “coach” in my mind before each pitch can’t do that many other places in the park. I do however really like Nationals park because outiside of Seattle I’m not real big on the new expensive ballparks.
how many times u gonna say 'u know' u are a scrub fan flake. sox park is amazing & spacious & comfortable & concourse is great. gosh i cant stand scrub fans
The only thing I like about Wrigley is the amopehere after the game with more bars & restaurants but as far as the game white sox park is way better not to mention the fireworks you can't get that at Wrigley field
As a White Sox, I have to agree with you. Reinsdorf aside being a terrible owner with his staff and roster, will forever be disliked by myself and other Sox fans because of this boring stadium. Threatened to move the team unless he got this polished turd paid for with taxpayer money, and it doesn't even face the skyline. You know your park sucks when your AAA Charlotte Knights have a better park and view. Sox fans are anxiously awaiting for JR to go
I have been to both Old Comiskey and New Comiskey. New Comiskey is just BOREING .!!! With all the changes they have make it still lacks Something. For one the orientation doesn't work. The Old Park looking Northeast should have been preserved. So Chicago has this great skyline and then they orient the park in the opposite direction at what seems like bad housing projects. If the White Sox moved to another city I don't think many people would even care. Wrigley is so much better for baseball. This concrete mess on the southside is barely better than that eyesore they have in Tampa.
You’re right it’s pretty blah . But bottom 3 . Could be I haven’t been to all the others . Also guessing by now everyone is new and better or old and classic like Cubs and Fenway . So you probably right
They have already gotten rid of some nice stadiums like Ballpark in Arlington, Turner Field and Yankee stadium but this one Oakland Colosseum Tampa Bays Trop and Rogers Centre all gotta go.
Sorry, but there is no way this ballpark should be ranked bottom 3 in MLB. Unlike Wrigley Field there is a better food selection, not a single obstructed view seat, fireworks, convenient parking, and easy access to the expressway. No neighbors bitching about night games and scoreboards obstructing their free view of the games either. If Bridgeport is a sketchy neighborhood then what about kidnappings that have been happening in Lakeview as recent as last week? Wrigley is 7.3 miles from downtown Chicago, Guaranteed Rate is 4.2 miles. Google it. Seems to me you have a bias not based on the actual ballpark.
who cares about the food selection or if there are a few obstructed views. I'm tired of hearing about the food and concessions at GRF/Cell, or whatever Jerry will sell the name for, the park is boring and looks like a shopping mall.
SVO - Outside of attending the game what else can you do at GRF? Would you ever go there on a day that the Sox weren’t there? That’s the point on the location. People in St.Louis go to Ballpark Village year round, Navy Yard in DC, Battery in Atlanta, heck even Wrigleyville is vibrant on a Cubs off day. You go to GRF to see a game. Other parks are offering an entertainment experience on top of the game.
@@insidetheparkwithemilyandb7350 There are some good restaurants west of the stadium within walking distance on 35th Street. My favorite Mexican restaurant (La Mexicana Taqueria) is nearby (0.5 mile walk) so we eat there on non-game days. In addition, 35th Street Red Hots is one block west from the stadium and offers great hot dogs, hamburgers, and fried shrimp. The area is primarily residential and it was important to build the new Sox stadium on the South Side per Chicago aldermen involved in the site negotiations. My acquaintance (Red Sox fan) was carjacked one block from Wrigley Field at 11:00 am on a week day last year which never happened to him on the south side in our neighborhood. There is no space in downtown Chicago for a new stadium which is why the Cubs are stuck with Wrigley Field where it is located since the Ricketts family has no appetite for moving to the suburbs.
@@insidetheparkwithemilyandb7350 There is nothing to do outside of the park. Its all empty parking lots. Jerry should've built a neighborhood of restaurants, bars, and night life adjacent to the park.
1) The ballpark is accessible not only by rapid transit, but Metra, as well. Plus, a big-ass Interstate sits adjacent to the ballpark. 2) Sox are wrong for excluding 500 level ticket holders from the rest of the park. Stupid policy. 3) No cup holders 4) No bad sight lines, but seats should be oriented more toward home plate 5) Lots of food and libations 6) You completely lost me when you compared it to The Trop, and the Oakland Mausoleum. C’mon, man!
I was there about 10 years ago and this place is a dump. I took the wrong turn and got some funny looks by the south side folks. They need to build a new ball park for the Sox.
